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Marion Bartoli thinks we are about to witness "the widest open Roland Garros" since Rafael Nadal's French Open dominance started in 2005. Nadal, who made 18 consecutive French Open appearances between 2005 and 2012, is missing the tournament for the first in nearly two decades.
With record 14-time French Open champion Nadal missing, Bartoli thinks there are several guys who definitely have a shot at winning the title. "This is going to be the widest open Roland Garros we're going to have since Nadal's domination.
I have picked five names who could win this year and they are Djokovic, Alcaraz, Holger Rune, Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas. I still feel like one of those players will be the winner but picking five names who could win the men's tournament has never happened in the past in almost 20 years.
It was always Rafa, Roger Federer or Djokovic. One of those guys has a huge shot to win Roland Garros which is very surprising," Bartoli told Sky Sports.
Bartoli on Nadal's absence, Iga Swiatek's French Open chances
When it comes to the French Open women's singles event, Bartoli is tipping Swiatek to make it all the way.
However, Bartoli underlines that Swiatek has been looking stressed in matches against Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina this year. Still, Bartoli expects two-time French Open champion Swiatek to find a way to defend her title at Roland Garros.
"Swiatek has to be able to do it over again. She's been able to win at Roland Garros on multiple occasions and she's overwhelming favourite this year, so it's about dealing with the pressure. You can see the stress in her face and stress-related shots when she faces a big-hitter like Sabalenka and Rybakina but for her it's about being able to deal with the favourite tag and find a way to stay calm to counter-attack the power hitters," Bartoli said.